Taiwan to loosen restrictions on foreign student employment

2012/04/23 19:53:00

Taipei, April 23 (CNA) Taiwan will revise regulations that impose restrictions on the employment of foreign students who graduate from universities or colleges on the island, Labor Minister Wang Ju-hsuan said Monday.

Foreign students are presently subject to employment restrictions placed on foreign white-collar workers, which require individuals seeking jobs in Taiwan to have at least two years of related work experience and be paid a minimum of NT$47,971 (US$1,627) per month, Wang said at a legislative hearing.

"The restrictions will be loosened by revising the law in the future," she said while answering questions at a joint hearing of the Legislature's Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee and the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee.

Kuomintang Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang called for the relaxation of the restrictions that have been regarded as a major obstacle to attracting foreign talent to work in the country.

Though he understood that the Council of Labor Affairs wanted to protect local workers, Lu said it was not right to set restrictions blocking foreign talent from entering the country simply out of fear that such people would deprive local citizens of job opportunities.